


Wishful Thinking

by sheriffswanmills



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst, College, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:47:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23394241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheriffswanmills/pseuds/sheriffswanmills
Summary: Emma and Robin are best friends and leave for college together, where they meet Regina Mills. Emma instantly falls for the girl, her roommate. Regina, however, only has eyes for Robin."When the brunette starts to speak, she doesn’t register it at first. She just watches the red lips of her roommate move. Finally, she shakes her head and puts herself together. She barely catches her name. Regina Mills."
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills & Emma Swan, Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	1. CHAPTER ONE

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE 1: If you think: this story sounds familiar, then you are correct. I have decided to delete the original (unfinished) one and to rewrite it!
> 
> NOTE 2: There will be some mention of OutlawQueen in this story, since they’re in a relationship for a while. However, this story is completely SwanQueen :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a time or any of the characters.

**CHAPTER ONE**

_Freshman year, September 2016_

Going off to college together with her best friend is something Emma has been looking forward to for a long, long time. Both ready to cut ties with the small town they met two years ago, they hit the road. Robin has been living on his own since he was sixteen. Both his parents had died in a car crash that year and with no family left to take care of him, the judge agreed to have him emancipated. Emma moved to a new foster home that same year and she instantly connected with Robin.

Memories with him in it are her most cherished memories. From hanging out in his apartment to sitting in the back of the classroom and not paying attention. When the day came that Emma got kicked out of her foster home, Robin had taken her in. He quite literally saved her.

Emma playing soccer and Robin playing baseball, they are lucky to have received a full scholarship to the same college. Luck isn’t usually on Emma Swan’s side and she hopes the universe won’t ruin this for her in some way.

\----

When the day to leave Storybrooke behind finally comes, both are happy to hit the road. The ten-hour drive isn’t ideal, but they manage with snacks and breaks on the way. For the past few weeks, she has focused all her attention on the fun things: leaving Storybrooke and finally focusing on soccer and not on the ridiculous subjects she had been forced to take in High School. Of course, she knows she still has to take classes – she chose to major in social work – but she has always managed studying and playing sports well.

The dorms however… She certainly hasn't been looking forward to that. She can’t room with Robin, as the college doesn’t allow boys and girls to share a room. She really isn’t looking forward to being separated from her best friend for the first time in over a year. The feeling is foreign to her. Never before has she been so scared to leave someone behind. She hadn’t cared about the countless foster homes she had been either kicked out of or had run away from. This is a first and Emma doesn't know what to do with this feeling.

She tries to tell her brain she is being ridiculous. Her and Robin won’t be living together, but they will be close. She isn’t _losing_ him, just living apart. But that doesn’t mean she is ready to give that up. She also isn’t very good with people. She is 100% sure rooming with another girl will be a disaster. Robin has assured her a dozen times that she’ll be fine, but she remains apprehensive. She was never one for friends and has always been kind of a loner.

There had been a girl once, Lily, but she had betrayed her like everyone else in her life. Not so long after, Emma found herself leaving for Storybrooke to live with a new foster family once again. Robin has been the only exception in her eighteen years of living.

\----

Fidgeting with her hands, Emma makes her way into the building. She is ready to get this over with and to get her key. Fate, however, has other plans for her. Emma sighs. There is a long row of students waiting and Emma and Robin silently take place in the queue.

‘So,’ Robin says. ‘How’s life at college going, Emma Swan?'

Emma laughs and shoves him gently. Though she appreciates his gesture to put her at ease, she is too nervous. ‘We haven’t even started yet, you idiot,’ she points out the obvious.

‘Hey.’ Robin takes her by the shoulders and turns her towards him. She’s pretty sure he notices the anxiety in her eyes. ‘Relax, Ems, just breathe okay? It’s all going to be fine. I’ll see you at dinner and then we’ll have breakfast together tomorrow morning. I’m. Not. Leaving. You.’

She sighs, finally believing what she's been telling herself all this time. His words have an effect on her that she herself didn’t have. He’s right and now that he’s said it, she can finally relax. Emma Swan from the foster system would’ve had a fit and would’ve yelled at her not to be so dependent on someone. She shuts the voice out.

Robin smiles at her. ‘Don’t try to strangle your roommate,’ he jokes. He winks at her and leaves to find his way to his dorm.

Emma wishes she could be more like Robin. He’s social and knows how to handle people. Everywhere he goes he makes new friends. She has no doubt he’ll feel right at home here by tomorrow. She isn’t so sure about herself. Before she came here, she made a list of everything she shouldn’t do. Making those lists has been kind of her thing since she was four years old and got kicked out of her third foster home.

Number 1: Don’t crush on your roommate.  
From a young age, Emma knew she was different, aside from the obvious - foster kid - she’s gay. The reason this is the first item on her list is because of Lily. Emma had a crush on her and admitted her feelings. A mistake she’ll never make again. The girl was extremely religious and could not accept Emma for who she was and outed her to her foster parents. When she had told Robin the story, he was the one who made her write down that rule. Because, as he said, if she would start crushing on her roommate, it would only cause problems.

Number 2: Don’t ignore your roommate.  
Another rule that Robin had thought of. Emma, of course, is completely against that particular rule. What will be the problem of her ignoring her future roommate? They don’t need to be friends – or even be friendly – they just need to share a room and that’s it. That can easily be done without exchanging words.

Number 3: Don’t lose your scholarship.  
Emma knows that once she loses her scholarship, she’s done for. With no steady income or parents to help her out, she will have to leave college. There’s no way she’s giving up the chance to help other foster kids. Technically, she knows it won’t be a problem, but that won't stop her from writing it down. She’s pretty smart: she has been to dozens of schools, but has never gotten anything lower than a C. Besides, she has always combined studying and playing soccer and so far, it has worked out fine.

\----

She’s avoiding going to her dorm. She knows it. Yet, she does nothing about it. First, she wanders around the hallways, watching others move into their dorms with family by their sides. Although she usually likes watching people, she isn’t really in the mood to watch the students hug their family’s goodbye. Before it’s time, she quickly darts out of the hallways. She stops at the common bathrooms and opens a random toilet stall. She closes the lid and brings her knees up to her chest.

She stays like that for a long time, playing a silly game on her phone. When her battery dies, she decides she can’t avoid the moment any longer. She’ll have to go to her room and face her new roommate. She takes her one bag in her hand and leaves the bathroom.

It takes her a bit longer to find her dorm than she expected. Not that she minds. The longer it takes, the more time she has to gather her thoughts and brace herself for the moment.

When she opens the door to her room, there are three suitcases on the left bed. A girl is unpacking another one in front of a closet. She’s alone too, is the first thing Emma notices. Feeling awkward just watching her, she clears her throat. The girl turns around. She’s stunning, absolutely beautiful. Chocolate brown eyes find her emerald ones and Emma finds herself unable to look away.

When the brunette starts to speak, she doesn’t register it at first. She just watches the red lips of her roommate move. Finally, she shakes her head and puts herself together. She barely catches her name. _Regina Mills_. It suits her, Emma decides.

‘Close your mouth, dear, or you’ll catch flies,’ the soft voice speaks.

Right. ‘Hi,’ she says awkwardly. ‘I’m Emma. Emma Swan.’

The brunette – Regina – nods once before turning around and continuing her unpacking. ‘You weren’t here when I arrived, so I hope you don’t mind me taking the left bed.’

‘Yeah, sure,’ Emma mumbles, not sure what to make of the girl. She watches her roommate for a moment longer and then drops her bag on the right bed. Somehow, she expects she’ll be done unpacking before Regina finishes her first suitcase.


	2. CHAPTER TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma knows that within the first week, she had somehow managed to break her first rule: she shouldn’t crush on her roommate. But with Regina, it just happened. She’s just so stunning and whenever she looks at her, she doesn’t wanna look away.

**CHAPTER TWO**

_Freshman Year, October 2016_

She’s been at college for a few weeks now and she’s finally settling in. Her and Robin are still friends and her and her roommate have been getting along fine. Classes are good and her soccer team is amazing. Emma’s thriving.

Emma knows that within the first week, she had somehow managed to break her first rule: she shouldn’t crush on her roommate. But with Regina, it just happened. She’s just so stunning and whenever she looks at her, she doesn’t wanna look away. On top of her beauty, the brunette was also really nice. She wasn’t too talkative, which Emma appreciates – she does have to study after all – though sometimes she wishes Regina would talk to her more often, just so Emma could listen to that voice and watch the red lips move and… Now, they only talk when they have lunch together – almost every other day. Which is fine, but you know. Crushes and all. Emma blinks, realizing she just got lost in her thoughts again. Her eyes focus on her laptop once again. She really, really should stop thinking about Regina this often.

She should try and see if she can somehow undo her rule-breaking. But she doesn’t even want to fight her crush on Regina. It hasn’t given her any problems so far. If anything, it makes Emma more social and she hasn’t felt this connection with someone besides Robin.

She would love to argue about this with Robin, as he is the one who told her not to crush on her roommate. This makes her interact more with her roommate, which he wants – she’s not ignoring Regina, which she otherwise definitely would have, screw Robin and his stupid rule.

\----

When she finally gets back to her dorm that night, after studying all day at the library, she immediately walks over to her bed and lands face-first on it. With shoes and her backpack still on her back. She groans slightly.

‘Well, hello to you too,’ Regina says.

Emma moves her head slightly up and rests her chin on the mattress to watch Regina. ‘Hey,’ she mumbles.

‘Long day?’ the brunette asks.

‘Yeah, I’ve got an essay due next week. Figured it would be best to get started already,’ Emma responds.

Regina barks out a laugh. ‘Already? Dear, I have got mine finished and it isn’t due for three weeks.’

‘Of course,’ Emma groans and moves her head into the pillow again. She wonders why she and Regina are even talking like this. Usually there’s a comfortable silence in their dorm. Not that Emma minds, she’s just curious what’s changed.

When she looks up again, she analyzes Regina and finally notices what she’s doing. She smiles slightly as she watches Regina fix her hair in their shared mirror. She vaguely remembers something about Robin mentioning a party. Is that tonight? He had insisted Emma should join him and come to the party, saying this would be the perfect opportunity to make new friends. Emma had told him no at least a dozen times.

‘Is that party tonight?’ she asks.

‘Yes! You should come! It would be fun to go out together!’ Regina responds enthusiastically.

While Emma would love to join Regina and go out with her, she really isn’t big on parties. She doesn’t like large crowds. They make her feel anxious and uncomfortable. Senior prom was bad enough, when she’d almost had a panic attack when Robin had left to go to the bathroom, and she had been standing in the middle of the dance floor alone.

And so, Emma watches Regina get ready for an hour. It takes all of her self-control not to walk over and do something stupid. Like kissing those delicious, plump, red lips.

‘What do you think?’ Regina turns around and Emma’s mouth goes dry. The dress Regina’s wearing leaves little to the imagination. It’s short, really short, has a low back and shows quite some cleavage. It’s very different than the brunette’s usual style: a designer skirt or designer pants with an expensive silk blouse.

‘You look… amazing.’

‘Yeah?’

Emma catches the doubt in Regina’s voice. ‘Really. You look beautiful, Regina.’

‘You know, I would really feel better if you would come. Everyone probably knows someone and I’ll be very awkward and alone.’

Emma sighs. ‘You have nothing to worry about. Everyone will love you. But if you need me, just give me a call and I’ll come, okay?’ she says, surprising herself.

Regina nods, smiles a little more confidently and then she’s at the door. Emma gives her a thumbs up and waves. A second later she’s alone.

\----

It’s about four hours later when she hears her phone ring. She quickly swallows the popcorn she’s been eating and pauses Netflix. _Regina Mills_ , she sees when she looks at her phone. She quickly swipes right. The first thing she hears is music. It’s so loud she has to move the phone away from her ear and lower the volume. When she moves her phone back, she hears giggling. She guesses that it’s Regina’s laugh and Emma finds herself getting lost in the sound.

‘Regina?’ Emma asks.

She doesn’t get an answer. Instead she just hears music. She waits a few minutes and tries again. When she hears nothing, she ends the call and decides she wants to make sure that Regina is alright. She throws on a hoodie and some ripped jeans and she’s out the door.

The party isn’t far. When she arrives, there’s a big crowd. As she moves forward, all she can see around her are bodies moving. She feels her breath quicken and is reminded of why she never goes to parties in the first place.

She takes a deep breath. ‘Okay,’ she tells herself, ‘just make sure Regina is fine and then go home.’ She decides to not dwell on the thought that she’s just called the dorm room she shares with Regina ‘home’.

Instead, she makes her way through the people and looks around for Regina. Emma doesn’t have to search long. She spots Regina’s dress immediately. She’s about to move closer, but stops abruptly when she sees who the brunette is dancing with.

Robin. Her best friend. They’re dancing extremely close together and Robin is smiling down at Regina. She sees Regina biting her lip and giggling. Her heart sinks. She wants to be mad at Robin, but that wouldn’t be fair. He doesn’t know she has a crush on the girl he’s flirting with right now.

If you could even call that flirting, she thinks it’s painfully close to having eye fucking. She takes a deep breath and looks up again. The moment she does, she wishes she hadn’t. All she can do is watch as the two of them lean in and share what looks like a passionate kiss. She staggers a step back.

She knows what she’s feeling all too well. Jealousy takes over her body and she can feel the tears starting to pool in her eyes. She’s felt like this countless times when she was younger. When she walked out of kindergarten class at the end of the day and the other kids ran to their parents on the playground and her foster parents forgot to pick her up. When another girl got adopted from the orphanage, when she had spent hours fixing her hair and putting on the nicest dress she could find. When the foster parents she was staying at gave their own child new clothes and toys and she got his too-small ones.

She blinks and turns around. She runs till she’s back in her bed. She collapses on her back and frustratedly wipes a single tear away. She shouldn’t be feeling like this. She’s being ridiculous. She’s only known Regina for a few weeks. It’s only a crush and it’ll disappear soon enough. It’s not like she was going to allow herself the chance to be more than friends with Regina anyways.

Besides, Robin has the right to be happy. He doesn’t have to follow Emma around all the time and take her under his wing. He can do what he wants without having to worry about her. She wants him to have a life without her, even if he’s her whole life.

Emma doesn’t know what’s happening, but suddenly she’s crying. She’s become attached to people. And it scares the hell out of her. And that only makes her cry harder.

\----

The next morning, she’s scared to open her eyes. Will Regina be in her bed or did she sleepover at Robin’s? What if she isn’t in her own bed? But what if she is? She’s not sure what scares her more. If the brunette isn’t in her bed, it could just be a one-nightstand. But if she is, that means the night has gone well and they might have plans to see each other again. Or not, she realizes. It could still have been just a one-time thing. Just a kiss at a party with a handsome guy.

She groans. She’s making herself go crazy. Deciding it’s better to just open her eyes now instead of wondering, she does just that. She sits up and the first thing she sees is the empty bed across from her. Her heart stops for a second before she sees Regina working at her desk. Geez, she went to a party last night! How is she already up and working?

‘Hey Em.’

Em, that’s a new one. She finds that she doesn’t really mind if it’s Regina who calls her that. ‘Yeah, good morning to you too… Why are you up so early?

Regina waves her off. ‘Homework for my economics class. You know how it is.’

Actually, Emma doesn’t. She’s never taken an economics class in her life and she certainly doesn’t wake up this early to do homework. She rolls out of bed and makes herself some coffee. Leaning against the counter she asks: ‘So, how was last night? You called me?’

‘Oh, I did? I’m sorry, that must’ve been an accident. It was so much fun. I met this really sweet boy last night and we’re going on a date this week. His name is…'

‘Robin.’

Regina stares at her. ‘How did you know?’

‘I came down last night after you called me to make sure you were okay. I saw you two together. Robin is my best friend.’

‘I hope that doesn’t bother you?’

‘It doesn’t,’ Emma lies, ‘Robin is a good guy. I’m sure your date will go perfect.’

Emma is surprised when Regina jumps up and hugs her. She barely has time to register the feeling of Regina’s arms around her and their bodies touching each other. She catches an apple scent before the brunette lets go again. This is new. How did they go from barely talking to hugging withing 24 hours? She decides it’s a good kind of new.

Regina starts talking about last night and Robin, but after about 30 seconds, Emma zones out. It does bother her, but not necessarily for the reasons Regina asked. Robin deserves to be happy. She’s just jealous of him. Robin is about to see a whole other side of Regina that she’ll never see or have. It leaves a tiny tear in her heart.

‘Shut up, Emma,’ she tells herself. It is only a crush.

She isn’t so sure she believes that anymore.


End file.
